


A kiss from Death

by eloquent_apollo



Series: Short stories [8]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: M/M, One Shot, Superheroes, Vague mentions of Andrew's past abuse, from a bigger fic I have in mind, its basically a small scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:01:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27269878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eloquent_apollo/pseuds/eloquent_apollo
Summary: Andrew finally turns around, swinging his legs back over the edge to stand on the concrete so he can see who he is talking to. The masked man is closer than he expected him to be. They are almost chest to chest and when Andrew stands they almost bump against each other. I am in control, he thinks, as he steps closer, forcing the man to step back.“You never told me your name, but that’s alright. I know how to figure it out for myself. Nathaniel, was it?”orA short scene from a superhero AU I have had stuck in my head for a while and that demanded to be let out.
Relationships: Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Series: Short stories [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1835371
Kudos: 60





	A kiss from Death

**Author's Note:**

> This was a scene I had in my head it's for a sort of superheroes AU? Did I picture Neil as spiderman but then wrote him with powers that Spiderman doesn't even have? Maybe I did, what's it to you? Lol anyway enjoy
> 
> TW: Some vague reference to Andrew's past abuse

With his back turned to the door, Andrew sits on the ledge of the rooftop. The cigarette in his hand has gone out, long forgotten in favour of watching the cars speeding by down below. His heart pounds in his throat. _Fear_. He hasn’t forgotten what that felt like just yet, phantom hands in his dreams touching his body are a painful reminder of what he used to feel almost every day. Now the fear is welcomed, a reminder that he is in control. He feels this because he _wants_ to feel it. Andrew is in control, even if they think they control his every move.

Behind him he hears footsteps landing on the concrete, but he doesn’t have to turn to know who it is.

“I thought you were afraid of heights?” The masked man asks him.

He has a superhero name, Andrew knows this name because he never forgets, but he refuses to give the man the satisfaction. The masked man knows so little about him and yet he puts all his trust in a five foot man who kills everything he touches. The man is a fool, but Andrew has told him so more times than he can count.

“I thought you were smart enough to not come by a villains headquarters?”

He still can’t pass up the opportunity to tell him again, though.

“You’re not a villain,” the man says, as he approaches him.

Andrew finally turns around, swinging his legs back over the edge to stand on the concrete so he can see who he is talking to. The masked man is closer than he expected him to be. They are almost chest to chest and when Andrew stands they almost bump against each other. _I am in control_ , he thinks, as he steps closer, forcing the man to step back.

“You never told me your name, but that’s alright. I know how to figure it out for myself. Nathaniel, was it?”

They are close enough that Andrew catches the way the man’s breath hitches, the way he clenches fists and looks like he is ready to dart to the nearest exit. Technically, since they are on a roof and he is pretty sure this masked man can fly, the nearest exit is everywhere. The runaway instinct is written all over Nathaniel, so Andrew reaches for his mask and pulls it off. It’s written in his icy blue eyes, in the tight line his lips make, it’s written in the paleness of his face as the blood leaves his face. Andrew pulls his hand back, still holding the mask, but Nathaniel grabs it.

“It’s Neil, actually,” he says. “I haven’t gone by Nathaniel since I was 11. So I guess you’re not as good of a detective as you claim to be.” A sly smile spreads across Neil’s face.

“Don’t touch me,” Andrew says, not rising to Neil’s bait.

Neil let’s go of him, but he grabs the black gloves that Andrew wears and tugs them off. Andrew lets him, he is only wearing them out of courtesy anyway. His boss isn’t too fond of the lethality his hands hold, so as part of the dress code he is made to wear the gloves. He can only take them off when he’s on a mission, or when he is alone at home. His powers can’t kill him after all, only those that are foolish enough to touch him. Developing this power would have been a burden to most, but for Andrew it had been his one way ticket to freedom.

“Is it really true?” Neil asks.

The question could be about a million things, but Andrew knows what Neil means. _Is it really true you killed your own mother?_ they talked about it the last time Neil came to visit him, but Andrew had neither confirmed nor denied it back then. Andrew didn’t know what Neil thought had changed between that night and this one that would make Andrew want to answer the question this time. Andrew is tempted to ignore it just like the other time, but another smaller part of him wants to humour Neil. An even smaller part of him wants Neil to look at him with fear in his eyes when he confirms that;

“Yes.” _he did kill his own mother._

Neil only nods, his eyes don’t betray anything. There is no fear, no repulsion or disgust, only understanding. Andrew knows who Neil’s father is, has spoken to him on multiple occasions because he works closely with Riko and Ichirou. He knows what horrors the butcher of Baltimore is capable of, he knows of the stories of Neil’s childhood before he ran. He knows that if Neil had been given the gift that Andrew had, he would have done the same. Andrew thinks he might do it for him, actually. It’s come with some belated shock when Andrew realises he wants to kiss Neil, that he wants to burn down the butcher and their headquarters and Riko and help Neil win this useless war they’ve been fighting for the last couple of years. It’s the first time that his powers aren’t a gift to him, but something holding him back.

“Yes or no?” Andrew asks, because he is nothing if not hopeless.

“Yes,” Neil says.

Andrew grabs Neil by the hem of his stupid latex suit and pulls him forward, he has to be careful not to touch any piece of bare skin as he puts the mask back on his head. Neil looks a little confused, but then Andrew leans forward and kisses him on the lips, the mask acting as a barrier between them to prevent their skin from touching. It feels weird, to kiss a piece of fabric, but at the same time it feels surprisingly right. Neil is only caught of guard for a second, but then he kisses Andrew back through the mask. He only lets him for a few seconds, before Andrew pulls back again.

“Fuck off,” he tells Neil.

Neil pulls his mask off again, but Andrew turns away before he can see his face.

“I told you. You aren’t a villain,” Neil says.

“You don’t know me,” Andrew says.

His words fall on deaf ears, the wind carries them away into the open. Andrew doesn’t have to turn around to know Neil is gone. He lights another cigarette for himself, letting the soothing burn of smoke wash out the feeling of lips pressed against his.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope y'all liked that! If u did, maybe come say hi to me on tumblr [over here](https://eloquent-apollo.tumblr.com/)


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